Daily News Updates - Health Insurance News

Florida Not There Yet, Pt.2 – How can Florida measure up?

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Kirsten, applying good wisdom, instructs us that the wrong advice would be to look at those close around us for ideas. The only right way to go is to study the systems of the most successful states. Take the best ideas and build a good, successful health insurance/care plan. Then put this health insurance/care in place ASAP. Who are the most successful states? The Commonwealth Fund gives us a nice list: “Iowa, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.” Alluding to a recent Commonwealth Fund report, Kirsten explains the significance of this benefit. If every state in the country would perform as well as these five states, millions of our nation’s children who don’t have it now, could have “adequate health care; and could avoid treatment delays.” So what’s Florida gonna do about this health insurance crises?

 Consider the examples of Vermont and Iowa. Both of their health care systems for children:

•  Are accessible
•  Are equitable
•  Provide high quality care
•  Control costs of treatment
•  Control costs of insurance

One of the most important criteria measured by the well-respected Commonwealth Fund in their recent comprehensive health insurance/care report called “U.S. Variations on Child Health System Performance: A State Scorecard” was a term, not well-known in Florida. It’s called a “Medical Home”. Kirsten defines this term very well with ‘having at least one preventive medical care visit in the past year,’ ready accessibility to specialist services and treatments, ‘having a personal doctor, or nurse who spends enough time and communicates clearly, provides telephone advice and urgent care when needed, and follows up after specialist care.’ Florida scored only 20% here. New Hampshire scored best with 61%. All the New England states averaged together fared well also, with 51%. How important is this? Commonwealth Fund has inferred in their report that, if all states performed as well as the best few states, that ‘10.9 million more children would have a "medical home’. Summary…While California studies the health insurance/care system of Florida, Florida should study New England; and California may want to head straight there, too.